Bishop’s Report for NWIM Synod Council – January 2025

Pastor: Since our fall meeting, I have visited the following congregations for a Sunday worship or an ordination: Fullness of God at Holden Village, Lake Chelan Lutheran, Sunnyside Lutheran, ordination/installation at Our Savior in Twin Falls, St. Paul in Chewelah, St. Luke in Spokane, holy closure at Messiah in Spokane, Bethel in Firth, Lord of Life in Kennewick, King of Glory in Boise, Cameron Emmanuel, Central in Spokane, Whitney UMC in Boise (where campus minister Hannah serves ¾ time). We have had two Retired Rostered Leader Gatherings (Riverview in Spokane and First Lutheran in Kennewick) and we have two coming up (Boise in February and Wenatchee in the spring). 

Servant: Kelly Preboski, executive director of Luther Heights Bible Camp, finished serving as director Jan. 2 and took another job with a Boise nonprofit. I have simply been a sounding board for the board chairperson. I continue to serve on the Rhythms of Faith Advisory Team, an ecumenical project funded by the Lilly Endowment exploring the relationship between church, home, and camp. Our tagline is camps as catalyst for family faith formation. I continue to check in every six-months with our two Campus Ministers and I point them and their boards to resources as they arise. I also crafted an end-of-year appeal letter addressed to alumni encouraging donations and legacy giving for the Wells Endowment for Campus Ministry. I continue to serve on the Pacific Lutheran University board along with a task force evaluating PLU’s association (its connection to the ELCA denomination).  I attended Ray Scherven’s Lutheran Disaster Response congregation readiness training and will encourage more congregations to participate in his next online training. I continue to help our Companion Synod team prepare for two guests from the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese to visit our synod in fall 2025. I attended the Love out Loud Lutheran Community Services Brunch in Boise and helped recruit the next board member from the Boise area. Lisa Kraft, King of Glory, Boise, served three three-year terms. Bonita Hammer, Redeemer, Boise, has agreed to serve a three-year term.

Symbol of our unity in Christ’s church: Above I noted Pastor Andy Hamblen’s ordination/installation in Twin Falls. Pastor Phil and I continue to nurture relationships with leaders of full-communion denominations across our synod. I am grateful for the mutual support and concrete collaborations that come with these relationships. One of the most interesting projects, which won’t come to fruition for some time, is possibly redeveloping the land at the The Center in Moscow (owned by six denominations, including the NWIM Synod-ELCA). The dream is student housing, more meeting space, and space to rent. 2025 is of course a Churchwide Assembly (CWA) Year (with elections for presiding bishop and ELCA secretary), so I anticipate pulling together online our synod’s voting members beginning in February. There is a CWA orientation for Region 1 scheduled for April. The Conference of Bishops’ history included a Bishop’s Academy (learning event) annually. Now it is biannual, and this January may be our last one. I will have been to Puerto Rico (Jan. 4-8) by the time synod council meets. I will be a guest in our domestic companion synod (Greater Milwaukee) Feb. 15-16. Whereas most synods have one or two companion synods, every synod is in relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and so we are each expected to participate in a Holy Land trip during our term. My class (2023) of bishops’ first opportunity was supposed to be this February, but it has been postponed until possibly September. I am honored to represent our synod, and I promise to report thoroughly during and after these trips. 

CEO: We were quite successful in our Rooted in Place financial campaign for geographically restricted internship sites. Our total raised from the Regional Gatherings, one special gift, and other online donations given around Giving Tuesday is $21,293.17.

It was sad, joyful, and an honor to be with Messiah for their holy closure, or service of completion. The synod gratefully received one of their legacy gifts: $40,000. Per our gift policy, the executive committee directed 10% to ELCA Churchwide and 10% to the NWIM Wells Endowment for Campus Ministry. We designated 60% to bequests and 20% to our operating fund.  Other organizations receiving legacy gifts from Messiah include Lutherhaven, Second Harvest, Christ Kitchen of Spokane, Venessa Behan Nursery, Shalom ministries, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and Meals on Wheels of Spokane. Finally, Messiah redirected their “Messiah Mission Endowment Funds to now send the interest generated by our $230,000 to the NWIM Synod Fund for Leaders, which we hope will be used to help pastors, interns, and TEEM members who are preparing for leadership in our church through ordination. And, if needed, we hope it can be used for those who are preparing for Lay Associates in our parishes, to bring the word of Gospel to those faith communities who can no longer afford a pastor.”Fund for Leaders (a national ELCA program) will need to change its guidelines for Messiah’s hope about supporting lay leadership training to be realized, but Synod Council may want to remember this note from Messiah when distributing the funds Exec put towards bequests (see above).

I am grateful to Nick Kiger from the ELCA and the rest of the synod staff for working with me on our Mission Support case for support. We sent out a dozen Mission Support increase ask letters (asking for a specific percentage increase in Mission Support for 2025). Through those letters, direct emails from our staff, and one email to around 20 churches, we asked every congregation in our synod to fill out and return their Mission Support intent form. Please help us with that synod council members! Our staff had a good day together (at St. Mark’s parish house) the second Wednesday in December. I also had end-of-year conversations/evals with each staff member. I am grateful to Messiah, Spokane for taking to heart, it seems, many of the suggestions laid out in my letter to them about keeping their legacy Lutheran and local.  A big thank you to the task group working with Cathy Steiner on her summer sabbatical. 

You will receive an oral report about Region 1: ELCA hiring a new Financial Services Officer.

I am grateful for all the synod council task forces which keep tackling projects. Your work is seen and appreciated and is making a real difference in our culture as a synod.